NRDC: Pharming Chickens - It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship (PDF)

PrePared by:

Jonathan Kaplan, M.e.M.Director, Food and Agriculture ProgramNatural Resources Defense Council

Maria bowman, Ph.d.Sustainable Livestock Economics FellowNatural Resources Defense Council

Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

NRDC ISSUE brIEF aPril 2014 Ib:13-12-A

The authors are grateful for the helpful comments of Tyler Smith at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future; Dr. Gail Hansen at The Pew Charitable Trusts; and Dr. Christina Swanson, Dana Gunders, and Claire Althouse (NrDC).

Carmen Cordova, Ph.d.Sustainable Livestock Science FellowNatural Resources Defense Council

avinash Kar, J.d.AttorneyNatural Resources Defense Council

PaGe 2 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

Overview

The widespread use of antibiotics in poultry production is breeding drug-resistant bacteria that threaten human health.

Over the past 50 years, as poultry farms became larger

and more concentrated, farmers began using antibiotics

to prevent disease and speed growth in broiler chickens

(chickens raised for meat) living in these crowded and

stressful conditions. The industry today remains dependent

on their widespread use, and antibiotics are frequently

given to birds that are not sick. When antibiotics are

routinely given to entire flocks, resistant bacteria are likely

to survive and proliferate. These resistant bacteria can even

share resistance genes with other bacteria. A large and

growing body of evidence shows that antibiotic-resistant

bacteria are frequently found on poultry products and in the

air and water around poultry facilities and can be carried

by poultry workers as well. These bacteria can cause

foodborne illness and other types of bacterial infections.

Ailments caused by drug-resistant bacteria can be harder

to treat—patients can be subject to longer hospital stays,

complications, and even death if treatment fails. The

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other

health authorities have sounded the alarm about rising rates

of antibiotic resistance, pointing to overuse and misuse by

livestock producers and in human medicine as the cause

of this dangerous problem. It's time for the poultry industry

to demonstrate stewardship of these important medicines,

and help protect their effectiveness for humans.

The good news is that there are proven alternatives to

the routine use of antibiotics. A combination of practices

such as water acidification; use of prebiotics, probiotics,

and other feed additives; improved sanitation and litter

management; use of vaccines; improved genetics; and

lower bird densities, among others, are effective at

preventing disease and reducing the need for antibiotics.

Several studies indicate that nontherapeutic uses of

antibiotics in U.S. broiler production can be avoided at a

cost of pennies per pound of chicken produced.

Antibiotics should be used sparingly in poultry

production to treat sick animals and, in rare circumstances,

for controlling disease outbreaks. They should always be

used under the supervision of a veterinarian, and never to

make up for poor growing conditions. Congress and the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should issue binding

regulations to protect antibiotics used in human medicine,

and producers and large buyers of poultry products should

commit to standards in line with that goal. Consumers

should also consider antibiotic use in their purchasing

decisions. Poultry producers, policymakers, buyers at large

food companies, and consumers must all take action to

ensure that these medicines are used safely.

PaGe 3 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

aMeriCans eat MOre ChiCKen than any Other tyPe Of aniMal PrOteinIn 2010, chicken replaced beef as the primary source of animal protein in U.S. diets.1 Americans now eat three times more chicken than they did in 1960 —almost 60 pounds per person every year. This is largely because it has become cheaper to eat chicken than either beef or pork, and because chicken has been touted as a healthier choice.2 In 1960 it took 63 days to grow a 3.4-pound broiler that was sold for $3.24 per pound (in 2011 dollars); in 2011 it took 47 days to grow a 5.8-pound broiler sold at $1.29 per pound.3 The increase in size and production rates of U.S. poultry operations has been driven, in part, by this increased demand. Unfortunately, many of these structural changes in the U.S. poultry industry have contributed to negative consequences for human and environmental health. These include surface water and groundwater contamination; air pollution; and increased dependency on antibiotic use which contributes to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten human health.4

Overuse Of antibiOtiCs in u.s. brOiler PrOduCtiOn breeds antibiOtiC-resistant baCteria that threaten huMan healthBacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a public health crisis of worldwide proportions—so much so that the World Health Organization says it is “threatening to undo decades of advances in our ability to treat disease.”5 In a recent report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “Up to half of antibiotic use in humans and much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe.”6 Livestock use accounts for 80 percent ofall antibiotics sold in the United States and 70 percent of all sales of antibiotic classes that are also used in human medicine.7 Industry reports, trade literature, scientific studies, and reports from USDA and FDA scientists suggest that antibiotics continue to be widely used in poultry production, although no government agency collects or discloses data on the volume of antibiotics used in this industry8 (See Table 1 for classes of antibiotics approved for use in broiler production that are also used in human medicine). A large body of recent research ties the routine use of antibiotics for disease prevention or to promote growth in livestock to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or “superbugs.”9

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01930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

figure 1: u.s. meat and poultry consumption, per capita, 1930–2011

* Data from the USDA ERS Food Availability Data System

AmERicAnS now conSUmE moRE chickEn pER cApitA thAn Any othER mEAt oR poUltRy pRoDUct*

PaGe 4 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

Certain antibiotics are often first injected into broiler eggs to prevent infection when they are vaccinated.10 Others may then be routinely used to prevent and control common infections such as salmonellosis, necrotic enteritis, and coccidiosis in chicks and adult birds.11 Antibiotics may also be used to make broilers grow faster with less feed.12 Many antibiotics are approved by the FDA for use in feed or water to prevent disease and promote growth (see Table 1)—a practice that is likely to breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria.13 These bacteria travel into supermarkets and homes on the

chicken sold at the grocery store, spread to farmers and poultry workers who handle the birds, and travel downwind and downstream from poultry facilities in air, water, and poultry litter (a mixture of excrement, feathers, feed, and other material that is cleaned out of poultry houses). Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can then lead to foodborne illness, increase the risk of other illnesses among farmers and poultry workers, and contribute to the growing abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the farm, in the environment, and in our communities.

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524 37% 13%pEoplE hAvE FAllEn ill

clinicAl SAmplES FRom 61 pAtiEntS in thE oUtbREAk wERE tEStED AnD ovER hAlF wERE inFEctED by A Salmonella RESiStAnt to At lEASt onE commonly pREScRibED Antibiotic.

oF thESE cASES wERE hoSpitAlizED

DEvElopED blooD inFEctionS

Salmonella hEiDElbERg oUtbREAk: 2013 – 2014

these percentages were calculated based upon the subset of cases for which there was available information in April of 2014.

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2013 Salmonella Outbreak linked to foster farms

In October 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg that the agency linked to the consumption of Foster Farms chicken. As of April 2014, 524 people had fallen ill, 37 percent of cases were hospitalized, and 13 percent developed blood infections. Of 61 isolates tested from patients, CDC reports that 38 (62 percent) exhibited resistance to at least one antibiotic. CDC notes that, while the particular antibiotics the bacteria were resistant to are not used to treat Salmonella infections, antibiotic resistance in general may be associated with an increased risk of hospitalization. In addition, based on CDC estimates of Salmonella infection under-diagnosis rates, the outbreak may have sickened more than 15,000 people.a

Source: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Multistate Outbreak of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Heidelberg Infections Linked to Foster Farms Brand Chicken, January 16, 2014), www.cdc.gov/salmonella/heidelberg-10-13/.a CDC estimates that for every for reported case of Salmonella infection, 29.3 cases go undiagnosed, and uses this multiplier to create more comprehensive estimates of foodborne illness in the U.S. The figure cited in the text was obtained by multiplying the total number of reported illnesses in the most recent Salmonella outbreak (524) by 29.3 = 15,353. See United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Foodborne Illness Acquired in the United States – Major Pathogens, Volume 17, Number 1-January 2011, Table 2, http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/1/p1-1101-t2.htm.

PaGe 5 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found on poultry products, contributing to foodborne illness and other infectionsScientists and government agencies routinely find antibiotic-resistant bacteria on animals at slaughter and on the fresh retail meat sold in grocery stores. According to 2010 data from the USDA’s animal arm of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), 25 percent of Campylobacter, 64 percent of E. coli, and 42 percent of Salmonella bacteria isolated from birds arriving at slaughterhouse facilities were resistant to two or more antibiotics.14 Additionally, antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter, E. coli and Salmonella were found on 26 percent, 53 percent, and 9 percent, respectively, of all tested fresh chicken samples at supermarkets. Of these resistant samples, 45 percent of the Salmonella isolates were resistant to three or more antibiotics, and one in five Campylobacter isolates were resistant to the first-line antibiotic ciprofloxacin.15

Although pathogens on meat are typically destroyed when meat is cooked, they nevertheless infect large numbers of people, usually as a result of cross contamination, handling prior to cooking, or improper cooking. Bacterial pathogens from poultry are estimated to have caused more than 652,000 illnesses between 1998 and 2008, more than any other food commodity.16 In addition to gastrointestinal illness, resistant foodborne pathogens can result in more serious infections. In a recent Salmonella outbreak that was linked to Foster Farms chicken, some of the strains that caused the outbreak were resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics in human medicine. While the CDC notes that the particular antibiotics the bacteria were resistant to are not used to treat Salmonella infections, antibiotic resistance may be associated with an increased risk of hospitalization. (see

According to 2011 dAtA on chicken sAmpled from grocery store shelves As pArt of the nAtionAl AntimicrobiAl resistAnce monitoring system (nArms),

26%oF chickEn SAmplED hAD RESiStAnt CampylobaCter

53%oF chickEn SAmplED hAD RESiStAnt e. Coli

9%oF chickEn SAmplED hAD RESiStAnt Salmonella

(RESiStAnt to onE oR moRE AntibioticS.)

© C

enters for Disease C

ontrol

Medical illustration of non-typhoidal Salmonella

Source: national Antimicrobial Resistance monitoring System 2011 Retail meat Report.

callout box).17 There is also growing evidence that food, and chicken in particular, may be among the causes of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are often caused by E. coli.18 Foodborne urinary tract infections caused by resistant bacteria might lead to additional risks and costs associated with medical treatment.19 In general, when harmful bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, patients face increased risk of longer hospital stays and treatment failure, as well as the need to use other drugs with greater health risks and side effects. These factors, in turn, result in higher costs of treatment.20

PaGe 6 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found on farmers and poultry workersThe health risk from direct exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria on food is only part of a greater threat. Many studies have correlated the introduction of antibiotics in poultry production with the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and subsequent colonization or infection of workers.21 For example, an early study found that when farmers who previously harbored no tetracycline-resistant bacteria introduced tetracycline feed additives, more than 30 percent of their gut bacteria developed resistance to tetracycline within five months (compared with 6.8 percent of samples from neighbors). When tetracyclines were removed from feed, resistance levels in farmers dropped to near-zero levels.22 Another study in Maryland and Virginia found that poultry workers were 32 times more likely when compared with other community members to carry gentamicin-resistant E. coli; they were also more likely to carry E. coli that were resistant to multiple drugs.23 In addition to just carrying resistant bacteria, studies have found that poultry and meat workers on the farm and in the processing plant are more prone than the general public to infections by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Campylobacter, among others.24 A growing proportion of these infections are resistant to multiple antibiotics, which may make them more dangerous and more costly and difficult to treat.25

antibiotic-resistant bacteria from poultry houses contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the air, water, and soilAntibiotic-resistant bacteria from poultry houses can spread into the environment.26 For example, the resistant bacteria can escape poultry houses on pests, such as flies, in the air that is blown from poultry house fans, and on trucks transporting poultry to slaughterhouses.27 Poultry litter (a mixture of excrement, feathers, feed, and other material that is cleaned out of poultry houses) is another important way in which antibiotic-resistant bacteria can escape the farm. Because antibiotic-resistant bacteria abound in poultry litter and persist in the litter when it is stored, resistant bacteria can be transferred to soil or water (or even to crops and produce) when this litter is spread as fertilizer on fields.28 Several studies have found resistant bacteria in the surface water and groundwater near poultry facilities.29 Soil can become an important reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well.30

antibiotic-resistant bacteria from poultry production can contribute to rising rates of antibiotic resistanceWhen antibiotic-resistant bacteria from production of poultry or other livestock spread to our air, water, communities, and food supply, they can share their resistance genes with other bacteria and promote resistance to antibiotics that were not used in raising the animals. Researchers have shown that bacteria in soil can exchange resistance genes with other bacteria, that resistance genes can be passed directly from farm bacteria to pathogenic bacteria in the community, and even that ingested antibiotic-resistant bacteria can share resistance genes with other bacteria inside the human gut.31 For instance, a recent study in Pennsylvania found that people living closer to swine farms and fields treated with swine manure had higher rates of antibiotic-resistant skin infections, including MRSA.32 There may be similar associations with proximity to poultry facilities. Many scientists now refer to a growing “reservoir” of antibiotic resistance in our communities and environment.33 In an era when essential antibiotics are failing to work, the existence of such a reservoir is troubling, to say the least.

the danish example

broiler production in Denmark offers a compelling case study for what happens when a whole country bans the use of antibiotics on birds that are not sick. Over the past two decades, producers successfully transitioned away from all nontherapeutic use of antibiotics with no significant changes in mortality or production, and only a minor increase in feed conversion (that is, a decrease in growth efficiency). This transition was accomplished through minor changes in management and animal husbandry, including more frequent house cleaning, improved ventilation, and reduced animal densities.

Source: H. Emborg et al., “The Effect of Discontinuing the Use of Antimicrobial Growth Promoters on the Productivity in the Danish broiler Production,” Preventive Veterinary Medicine 50 (2001): 53-70. World Health Organization, Impacts of Antimicrobial Growth Promoter Termination in Denmark, 2002, www.who. int/gfn/en/Expertsreportgrowthpromoterdenmark.pdf (accessed October 30, 2013). The Pew Charitable Trusts, Avoiding Antibiotic Resistance: Denmark's Ban on Growth Promoting Antibiotics in Food Animals, http://www.pewhealth.org/uploadedFiles/PHG/Supporting_Items/DenmarkExperience.pdf (accessed December 9, 2013).

PaGe 7 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

alternatives tO antibiOtiC use in brOiler faCilities exist and are sCalableThe good news is that there are proven alternatives to theroutine use of antibiotics, and there is evidence that an increasing number of U.S. poultry integrators (large poultry companies that contract with individual producers to provide the labor and facilities to raise birds) have adopted antibiotic-free production systems or are reducing use.34 In early 2014, the fast food company Chick-Fil-A declared its intention to transition to serving only chicken raised without antibiotics within the next five years.35 Perdue Farms, the 4th largest poultry company in the United States36 claims to have already transitioned 80 percent of their hatcheries to antibiotic-free (as reported by National Public Radio in February 2014).37 These changes are largely due to increasing consumer demand for either poultry raised without antibiotics or organic poultry products.38 Producers can likely achieve significant public health benefits by eliminating non-theraputic uses (i.e. disease prevention and growth promotion uses) of antibiotics as a less-costly alternative to eliminating all antibiotics, but there is no existing label or standard by which to assess or recognize antibiotic stewardship short of no antibiotic use. Producers can reduce or eliminate the need for non-therapeutic antibiotic use through a combination of technologies and improved management practices such as:

n drinking water acidification. Adding certain acids to drinking water can significantly reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in young chicks and adult broilers and can selectively promote colonization by “good” bacteria.39

n use of prebiotics and probiotics. Giving birds pre- and probiotics at critical stages of the growth cycle can preemptively help establish a healthy environment in the gut, which makes colonization by pathogenic bacteria less likely.40

n feed supplements and additives. While many supplements and additives are still considered experimental, antibiotic-free broiler operations frequently use a variety of natural feed supplements, such as oregano, thyme, and various oils that may improve animal health or help prevent disease.41

n improved management of poultry house and litter conditions. Cleaning out litter more frequently, managing litter moisture, and improving airflow can help reduce disease pressure from bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli.42

n vaccination. A live vaccine for coccidiosis results in enhanced immunity against Eimeria spp.43 Mixtures of live and heat-killed vaccines have been used in broiler breeders to boost immunity against Salmonella in hens and their progeny.44

n improved genetics. Breeding birds to be more resilient and resistant to disease can help reduce the need for routine antibiotic use.45

n reduced bird densities. Reducing the stocking density of broilers in the absence of antibiotics may improve bird health and growth under stress.46 Average stocking densities in conventional broiler production are around 0.8 square feet per bird,47 but many integrators may pack birds more densely. Multiple standards, including the National Organic Program and the Global Animal Partnership, recommend more space per bird for improved health and welfare.48

PaGe 8 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

According to survey data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey of the USDA,49 42.4 percent of operations (representing 44.3 percent of production) reported that their contractor/buyer required that broilers be raised without antibiotics in their feed or water unless the birds are ill.50 This is consistent with other recent estimates of antibiotic use in feed in U.S. poultry operations.51 A small but growing share of broiler production is organic or raised without antibiotics, and chicken raised without antibiotics is sometimes sold at a price point competitive with conventional poultry.52 Brands marketing these products in supermarkets include Fieldale Farms, Springer Mountain Farms, Mary’s Chicken, Murray’s, Bell and Evans, Miller Amish, and Perdue Farms’ Coleman Natural and Harvestland brands.53

reduCinG antibiOtiC use in brOiler OPeratiOns is nOt exPensiveEconomic studies suggest that the extra financial benefit that broiler producers get from using antibiotics in broiler feed is small, and some studies suggest there might not be any benefit at all. In 1976, the first study that looked at the cost of a ban on antibiotics in feed found that retail broiler prices would likely go up in the short term by about 2.2 percent.54 In 1999 the National Research Council estimated that eliminating antibiotics in animal feed would increase the retail price of chicken by 1.3-2.6 percent, or 2 to 4 cents per pound. At the time, this translated to an increase in cost for the average consumer of an additional $1 to $2 per year (or $1.40-$2.80 per year in today's dollars).55 One recent study suggested that producers may be losing money (about 0.09 cent per chicken) by feeding birds antibiotics,56 and the Danish example (see callout box) suggests that increased costs of transitioning away from antibiotic use were negligible for broilers. Finally, a study by USDA economists

that looked at data from farmer surveys estimated that broiler grow-out operations that are required to use no antibiotics in feed or water are paid grower fees 2.1 percent higher, on average, than the fees paid to traditional operations. They speculate that this is due to higher costs of production and management at the grower level when no antibiotics are used.57 Existing cost estimates concentrate on the costs of eliminating non-therapeutic use in feed and water (and do not include the costs of eliminating other non-therapeutic uses, such as the injection of broiler eggs with antibiotics during vaccination). Nonetheless, these estimates suggest that getting rid of antibiotics in chicken feed and water would cost mere pennies a pound.58 Current retail prices for antibiotic-free chicken are higher than this estimated cost, but some of this difference may have to do with other attributes of antibiotic-free chicken brands (e.g. “free-range”, “Vegetarian-fed”, and others), as well as other factors affecting poultry markets and consumer demand.

the Path fOrwardClasses of antibiotics used in human medicine should be used only for therapeutic purposes in poultry production, not for disease prevention or growth promotion, and always under the supervision of a veterinarian.59 Using antibiotics infrequently to treat sick animals or control a disease outbreak (i.e., therapeutic use) is appropriate to maintain animal health and welfare. While the FDA has issued voluntary guidelines to address growth promotion uses of antibiotics,60 the guidelines fail to address prevention uses and may have little impact on the problem of routine antibiotic use on animals that are not sick. Many current uses can simply continue under the label of prevention. Both Congress and the FDA have a responsibility to take binding regulatory action to ensure judicious use of antibiotics. Meanwhile, poultry producers and large food buyers should commit to adhering to production practices and procurement standards that support these goals. Consumers, in turn, can vote with their wallets by rewarding producers that are getting the job done with fewer antibiotics. Labels to look for include “USDA Organic”61 or “No antibiotics administered,” (or similar claims such as "No antibiotics ever”), especially if the claims are accompanied by “USDA process-verified.” Together, producers, consumers, large buyers, and government agencies can help reduce the threat to human health posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while ensuring that our poultry remains affordable and safe to eat.

thESE EStimAtES SUggESt thAt gEtting RiD oF AntibioticS in chickEn FEED AnD wAtER woUlD coSt mERE pEnniES A poUnD.

PaGe 9 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

table 1: Classes of Medically important antibiotics approved for use in the u.s. broiler industrya

druG Class use in POultry use in huMansb

level Of iMPOrtanCe in huMan MediCine

aminoglycosidesDisease prevention and treatment

Treatment of Listeria infections, staph infections (heart tissue)Treatment of Pseudomonas infection (e.g., lung infection, surgical complication)

Critically important (WHO)Highly important (FDA)

Cephalosporins Disease prevention and treatment

Treatment of bacterial meningitis, pneumoniaCritically important, 3rd- or 4th-generation cephalosporin (WHO)Critically important (FDA)

lincosamides Growth promotion

Treatment of bacterial vaginosis, post-operative wound infections, some Clostridium infections

Highly important (WHO)Highly important (FDA)

Macrolides

Disease prevention and treatment; growth promotion

Treatment of Campylobacter infection, whooping cough, contaminated traumatic wounds

Critically important (WHO)Critically important (FDA)

Penicillins

Disease prevention and treatment; growth promotion

Treatment of bacterial meningitis and complicated Urinary Tract Infections

Critically important (WHO)Highly important (FDA)

PolymixinsDisease prevention and treatment

Treatment of highly resistant Klebsiella infections or multiresistant Acinetobacter infection

Critically important (WHO)Highly important (FDA)

streptogramins Growth promotion

Treatment of MrSA infectionsHighly important (WHO)Highly important (FDA)

sulfonamidesDisease prevention and treatment

Treatment of urinary tract infections, foodborne illness due to Salmonella, etc.

Highly important (WHO)Critically important (FDA)

tetracyclines

Disease prevention and treatment; growth promotion

Treatment of gonorrhea, chlamydia, pneumoniaHighly important (WHO)Highly important (FDA)

fda criteria:d

1: “Antimicrobial drugs used to treat enteric pathogens that cause foodborne disease.”2: “Sole therapy or one of few alternatives to treat serious human disease or drug is

essential component among many antimicrobials in treatment of human disease.”3: “Antimicrobials used to treat enteric pathogens in non-foodborne disease.”4: “No cross-resistance within drug class and absence of linked resistance with other

drug classes.”5: “Difficulty in transmitting resistance elements within or across genera and species

of organisms.”Critically Important: 1 + 2. Highly Important: 1 or 2. Important: 3 and/or 4 and/or 5.

whO criteria:c

1: “An antimicrobial agent which is the sole, or one of limited available therapy, to treat serious human disease.”

2: “Antimicrobial agent used to treat diseases caused by either: (1) organisms that may be transmitted to humans from non-human sources, or (2) human diseases causes by organisms that may acquire resistance genes from non-human sources.”

Critically Important: 1 + 2. Highly important: 1 or 2. Important: Neither 1 nor 2.

a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Approved Animal Drug Products, 2013, www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/animaldrugsatfda/.

b David Gilbert et al., The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy 2010, Antimicrobial Therapy, Inc., 2010.

c World Health Organization, Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine, 3rd Revision, 2011, apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77376/1/9789241504485_eng.pdf.

d U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Guidance for Industry No. 152, Evaluating the Safety of Antimicrobial New Animal Drugs with Regard to Their Microbiological Effects on Bacteria of Human Health Concern 2003, www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/ucm052519.pdf.

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endnotes

1 Janine bentley, “U.S. per capita availability of chicken surpasses that of beef,” Amber Waves 10 (2012), www.ers.usda.gov/media/909951/chickenavailability.pdf (accessed October 23, 2013).

2 In 2010, chicken prices were $1.67/lb. lower than beef prices, on average, and $0.67/lb. lower than pork prices. bentley, supra note 1. For an example of the medical profession’s focus on “lean meats and poultry,” see, e.g., Alice Lichtenstein et al., “Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee,” Circulation 113 (2006): 82-96; also see “Dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) approach,” (among others), in U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 ( 2010), www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf (accessed October 23, 2013).

3 Average CPI in 1960 was 29.6, average CPI in 2011 was 224.939; therefore real retail price of chicken in 1960 (2011 dollars) was 0.427*224.939/29.6=$3.24/lb. See National Chicken Council, “U.S. broiler Performance,” www.nationalchickencouncil.org/about-the-industry/statistics/u-s-broiler-performance/ (accessed October 20, 2013). National Chicken Council, “Wholesale and retail Prices for Chicken, beef, and Pork,” www.nationalchickencouncil.org/about-the-industry/statistics/wholesale-and-retail-prices-for-chicken-beef-and-pork/ (accessed October 20, 2013). Economic research Service, “Meat Price Spreads,” United States Department of Agriculture, www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/meat-price-spreads.aspx#.UmbllxAwf64 (accessed October 20, 2013). U.S. Department of Labor, bureau of Labor Statistics, “Consumer Price Index,” ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt (accessed October 20, 2013).

4 James MacDonald and William Mcbride, The Transformation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency and Risks, USDA ErS Information bulletin No. 43 (2009), www.ers.usda.gov/media/265070/eib43fm_1_.pdf (accessed October 23, 2013). Giancarlo Moschini and Karl Meilke, “Modeling the pattern of structural change in U.S. meat demand,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 71 (1989): 253-261. James MacDonald, The Economic Organization of U.S. Broiler Production, USDA ErS Information bulletin No. 38 (2008), www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib38.aspx#.UmhGHrAwf64 (accessed October 23, 2013). C.W. ritz et al., “Implications of ammonia production and emissions from commercial poultry facilities: a review,” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 13(2004): 684-692. J.T. Sims and D.C. Wolf, “Poultry waste management: Agricultural and environmental issues,” Advances in Agronomy 52(1994): 1-83. Enzo Campagnolo et al., “Antimicrobial residues in animal waste and water resources proximal to large-scale swine and poultry feeding operations,” Science of the Total Environment 299 (2002): 89-95. Jennifer Weidhaas et al., “Correlation of quantitative PCr for a poultry-specific Brevibacterium marker gene with bacterial and chemical indicators of water pollution in a watershed impacted by land application of poultry litter,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77(2011): 2094-2102. r.E. Lacey et al., “A review of literature concerning odors, ammonia, and dust from broiler production facilities: 1. Odor concentrations and emissions,” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 13(2004): 500-508.

5 World Health Organization, “Antimicrobial resistance,” www.who.int/drugresistance/en/ (accessed November 5, 2013).

6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013, 2013, p. 31, www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/ (accessed October 10, 2013).

7 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, 2011 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals, 2011, www.fda.gov/downloads/ForIndustry/UserFees/AnimalDrugUserFeeActADUFA/UCM338170.pdf (accessed October 1, 2013). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and

Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and research, Drug Use Review (2012), www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/UCM319435.pdf.

8 Frank Jones and Steven ricke, “Observations on the history of the development of antimicrobials and their use in poultry feeds,” Poulty Science 82(2003): 613-617; Margaret Mellon, Charles benbrook, and Karen Lutz benbrook. Hogging it: estimates of antimicrobial abuse in livestock. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2001; National research Council, The Use of Drugs in Food Animals: Benefits and Risks (Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, 1999); MacDonald, supra note 4; James MacDonald and Sun Ling Wang, “Foregoing sub-therapeutic antibiotics: the impact on broiler grow-out operations.” Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy 33(2011):79-98; Scott McEwen and Paula Fedorka-Cray, “Antimicrobial use and resistance in animals,” Clinical Infectious Diseases 34(2002):S93-S106.

9 Meghan Davis et al., “An ecological perspective on U.S. industrial poultry production: the role of anthropogenic ecosystems on the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria from agricultural environments,” Current Opinion in Microbiology 14 (2011): 1-7. David Smith, Jonathan Dushoff, and J. Glenn Morris Jr., “Does antibiotic use in agriculture have a greater impact than hospital use?” PLoS Medicine 2 (2005): 0731-0735. Ellen Silbergeld, Jay Graham, and Lance Price, “Industrial food animal production, antimicrobial resistance, and human health,” Annual Review of Public Health 29 (2008): 151-169. bonnie Marshall and Stuart Levy, “Food animals and antimicrobials: Impacts on human health,” Clinical Microbiology Reviews 24 (2011): 718-733. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013, 2013, www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/ (accessed October 10, 2013).

10 Gentamicin is the most commonly used antibiotic for in-ovo injection. Most poultry facilities vaccinate their birds around day 18 of incubation. See J. bailey and E. Line, "In ovo gentamicin and mucosal starter culture to control Salmonella in broiler production," Journal of Applied Poultry research 10(2001): 376-379.

11 One class of antibiotics that is frequently used to treat coccidiosis, ionophores, is not used in humans, and there has been little indication to date that use of ionophores promotes resistance to antibiotics important to human medicine.

12 Jones and ricke, supra note 8; McEwen and Fedorka-Cray, supra note 8; MacDonald, supra note 4; MacDonald and Wang, supra note 8. J. Prescott, J. baggot, and r.D. Walker, editors, Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine. 3rd Edition, Iowa State Unversity Press, Ames, Iowa, USA, 2000.

13 Julian Davies and Dorothy Davies, “Origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance,” Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews 74 (2010): 417-433. Erik Gullberg et al., “Selection of resistant bacteria at very low antibiotic concentrations, ” PLoS Pathogens 7(2011): e1002158. Karl Drlica and Xilin Zhao, “Mutant selection window hypothesis updated,” Clinical Infectious Diseases 44(2007): 681-688. Stuart Levy et al., “Changes in intestinal flora of farm personnel after introduction of a tetracycline-supplemented feed on a farm,” New England Journal of Medicine 295 (1976): 583-588. Sobhan Nandi et al., “Gram-positive bacteria are a major reservoir of Class 1 antibiotic resistance integrons in poultry litter,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101 (2004): 7118-7122. Vesna Furtula et al., “Veterinary pharmaceuticals and antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli isolates in poultry litter from commercial farms and controlled feeding trials,” Poultry Science 89 (2010): 180-188. J. Smith et al., “Impact of antimicrobial usage on antimicrobial resistance in commensal Escherichia coli strains colonizing broiler chickens,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73 (2007): 1404-1414.

14 United States Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Agriculture, National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System 2010 Animal Arm Annual Report, 2011, www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/66120508/NArMS/NArMS2010/NArMS%20USDA%202010%20report.pdf (accessed October 28, 2013).

PaGe 11 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

15 United States Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System 2011 Retail Meat Report, 2012, www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/Antimicrobialresistance/NationalAntimicrobialresistanceMonitoringSystem/UCM334834.pdf (accessed October 28, 2013).

16 John Painter et al., “Attribution of foodborne illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths to food commodities by using outbreak data, United States, 1998–2008,” Emerging Infectious Diseases 19 (2013): 407-415.

17 United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Multistate Outbreak of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Heidelberg Infections Linked to Foster Farms Brand Chicken, October 30, 2013.

18 Diana George and Amee Manges, “A systematic review of outbreak and non-outbreak studies of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli causing community-acquired infections,” Epidemiology and Infection 138 (2010): 1679-1690. Amee Manges et al., “retail meat consumption and the acquisition of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections: A case-control study,” Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 4 (2007): 419-431. Sabrina Tavernise, “Tracing Germs Through the Aisles,” New York Times, July 29, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/health/tracing-germs-through-the-aisles.html?_r=0. Amee Manges et al., “Endemic and epidemic lineages of Escherichia coli that cause urinary tract infections,” Emerging Infectious Diseases 14 (2008): 1575-1583. Amee Manges et al., “The changing prevalence of drug-resistant Escherichia coli clonal groups in a community: Evidence for community outbreaks of urinary tract infections,” Epidemiology and Infection 134 (2006): 425-431. James Karlowsky et al., “Trends in antimicrobial resistance among urinary tract infection isolates of Escherichia coli from female outpatients in the United States,” Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 46 (2002): 2540-2545. Amee Manges et al., “Widespread distribution of urinary tract infections caused by a multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli clonal group,” New England Journal of Medicine 345 (2001): 1007-1013.

19 T russo and J Johnson, “Medical and economic impact of extraintestinal infections due to Escherichia coli: focus on an increasingly important endemic problem,” Microbes and Infection 5(2003):449-456; b Foxman et al., “Urinary tract infections: self-reported incidence and associated costs,” Annals of Epidemiology 10(2000):509:515; b. Foxman, “Epidemiology of urinary tract infections: incidence, morbidity, and economic costs. American Journal of Medicine 113(2002):FS-13S.

20 D. Howard and K. rask, The Impact of resistance on Antibiotic Demand in Patients with Ear Infections. In r. Laxminarayan, editor. Battling Resistance to Antibiotics and Pesticides: An Economic Approach. rFF Press, Washington, D.C., 2002. r. roberts et al., “Hospital and societal costs of antimicrobial-resistant infections in a Chicago teaching hospital: implications for antibiotic stewardship,” Clinical Infectious Diseases 49: 1175-1184. ramnan Laxminarayan,and Anup Malani, Extending the cure: policy responses to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.,2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supra note 9.

21 Stuart Levy et al., supra note 13. Stuart Levy, George FitzGerald, and Ann Macone, “Spread of antibiotic-resistant plasmids from chicken to chicken and from chicken to man, Nature 260 (1976): 40-42. Patrick McDermott et al., “Ciprofloxacin resistance in Campylobacter jejuni evolves rapidly in chickens treated with fluoroquinolones,” Journal of Infectious Diseases 185 (2002): 837-840. Lance Price et al., “Elevated risk of carrying gentamicin-resistant Esherichia coli among U.S. poultry workers,” Environmental Health Perspectives 115 (2007): 1738-1742. M. Mulders et al., “Prevalence of livestock-associated MrSA in broiler flocks and risk factors for slaughterhouse personnel in the Netherlands,” Epidemiology and Infection 138 (5): 743-755. Marie de Perio et al., “Campylobacter infection in poultry-processing workers, Virginia, USA, 2008–2011,” Emerging Infectious Diseases 19 (2013), doi: 10.3201/eid1902.121147. reimert ravenholt et al., “Staphylococcal infection in meat animals and meat workers,” Public Health Reports 76 (1961): 879-888.

22 Levy et al., supra note 13; Levy et al., supra note 21.

23 Price et al., supra note 21.

24 de Perio et al., supra note 21; ravenholt et al., supra note 21.

25 Sean Altekruse et al., “Campylobacter jejuni: An emerging foodborne pathogen,” Emerging Infectious Diseases 5 (1999): 28-35. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supra note 9.

26 J. brooks et al., “Microbial and antibiotic-resistant constituents associated with biological aerosols and poultry litter within a commercial poultry house,” Science of the Total Environment 408 (2010): 4770-4777.

27 Jay Graham et al., “Antibiotic-resistant enterococci and staphylococci isolated from flies collected near confined poultry feeding operations,” Science of the Total Environment 407 (2009): 2701-2710. T. banhazi et al., “Identification of the risk factors for high airborne particle concentrations in broiler buildings using statistical modelling,” Biosystems Engineering 101 (2008): 100-110. brooks, supra note 26. Ana rule, Sean Evans, and Ellen Silbergeld, “Food animal transport: A potential source of community exposures to health hazards from industrial farming (CAFOs),” Journal of Infection and Public Health 1(2008): 33-39.

28 Nandi et al., supra note 13. Furtula et al., supra note 13. Shabbir Simjee et al., “Antimicrobial susceptibility and distribution of antimicrobial-resistance genes among Enterococcus and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus isolates recovered from poultry litter,” Avian Diseases 51 (2007): 884-892. J Chee-Sanford et al., “Fate and transport of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes following land application of manure waste,” Journal of Environmental Quality 38 (2009): 1086-1108. Charles Hofacre et al., “Presence of fluoroquinolone-resistant coliforms in poultry litter,” Avian Diseases (2000): 963-967. Joshua Hayes et al., “Multiple-antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus spp. isolated from commercial poultry production environments,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70 (2004): 6005-6011. Smith et al., supra note 13. T. Kelley et al., “Antibiotic resistance of bacterial litter isolates,” Poultry Science 77 (1998): 243-247.

29 Campagnolo et al., supra note 4.

30 Kevin Forsberg et al., “The shared antibiotic resistome of soil bacteria and human pathogens,” Science 337 (2012): 1107-1111.

31 Forsberg et al., supra note 30; Nandi, supra note 13; barbel Stecher, Lisa Maier, and Wolf-Dietrich Hardt, “ ‘blooming’ in the gut: How dysbiosis might contribute to pathogen evolution,” Nature Reviews Microbiology 11 (2013): 277-284. Yongfei Hu et al., “Metagenome-wide analysis of antibiotic resistance genes in a large cohort of human gut microbiota,” Nature Communications 4 (2013).

32 Joan Casey et al., “High-density livestock operations, crop field application of manure, and risk of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in Pennsylvania,” JAMA Internal Medicine 173 (2013): 1980-1990.

33 Davis et al., supra note 9. George G. Khachatourians, “Agricultural use of antibiotics and the evolution and transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” Canadian Medical Association Journal 159 (1998): 1129-1136.

34 H. Engster, D. Marvil, and b. Stewart-brown, “The effect of with-drawing growth promoting antibiotics from broiler chickens: A long-term commercial industry study,” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 11 (2002): 431-436. MacDonald and Wang, supra note 8. Elizabeth Weise, “’Natural’ chickens take flight,” USA Today, January 23, 2006, usato-day30.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-01-23-natural-chickens_x.htm.

35 Stephanie Strom, “Chick-fil-A Commits to Stop Sales of Poultry raised With Antibiotics,” New York Times, February 11, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/business/chick-fil-a-commits-to-stop-sales-of-poultry-raised-with-antibiotics.html?_r=0.

36 Gary Thornton, "Top US broiler Companies: 2013 profiles," Watt Poultry USA, March, 2013, http://www.wattpoultryusa-digital.com/201303#&pageSet=11.

37 Maria Godoy, “Americans Want Antibiotic-Free Chicken, And The Industry Is Listening,” National Public Radio, February 19, 2014, http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/14/276976353/americans-want-antibiotic-free-chicken-and-the-industry-is-listening.

PaGe 12 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

38 C. Dimitri, A. Effland, and N. Conklin, The 20th-century transformation of U.S. agriculture and farm policy, USDA ErS Economic Information bulletin No. 3 (2005). P.G. Crandall et al., “Organic poultry: Consumer perceptions, opportunities, and regulatory issues,” The Journal of Applied Poultry Research 18(2009): 795-802. Consumer’s Union, Meat on Drugs, 2012, notinmyfood.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Cr_Meat_On_Drugs_report_06-12.pdf (accessed November 19, 2013).

39 F. Van Immerseel et al., “The use of organic acids to combat Salmonella in poultry: A mechanistic explanation of the efficacy,” Avian Pathology 35 (2006): 182-188. J. byrd et al., “Effect of experimental chlorate product administration in the drinking water on Salmonella typhimurium contamination of broilers,” Poultry Science 82 (2003): 1403-1406. P. Chaveerach et al., “Effect of organic acids in drinking water for young broilers on Campylobacter infection, volatile fatty acid production, gut microflora and histological cell changes,” Poultry Science 83 (2004): 330-334. Yong Soo Jung et al., “reduction of Salmonella typhimurium in experimentally challenged broilers by nitrate adaptation and chlorate supplementation in drinking water,” Journal of Food Protection 66 (2003): 660-663. Terrence O’Keefe, “Pre-harvest salmonella control,” Watt Poultry USA (July 2008). J. Griggs and J. Jacob, “Alternatives to antibiotics for Organic poultry production,” The Journal of Applied Poultry Research 14(2005): 750-756.

40 r. Fuller, “The chicken gut microflora and probiotic supplements,” Journal of Poultry Science 38 (2001): 189-196. S.M. Lutful Kabir, “The role of probiotics in the poultry industry” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 10 (2009): 3531-3546; Y. Yang, P. Iji, and M. Choct, “Dietary modulation of gut microflora in broiler chickens: A review of the role of six kinds of alternatives to in-feed antibiotics,” World’s Poultry Science Journal 65(2009): 97-114. Hashemzadeh et al., “Prevention of salmonella colonization in neonatal broiler chicks by using different routes of probiotic administration in hatchery evaluated by culture and PCr techniques,” Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology 12 (2010): 425-432. J. Patterson et al., “Application of prebiotics and probiotics in poultry production,” Poultry Science 82 (2003): 627-631. C.A. O’bryan, et al., “Organic poultry pathogen control from farm to fork,” Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 5 (2008): 709-720. J.P. Dahiya et al., “Potential strategies for controlling necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens in a post-antibiotic era,” Animal Feed Science and Technology 129 (2006): 60-88. Griggs and Jacob, supra note 39.

41 C.A. O’bryan et al.; supra note 40. J.P. Dahiya et al., supra note 40. Y. Yang et al., supra note 40. N.P. buchanan, “The effects of a natural antibiotic alternative and a natural growth promoter feed additive on broiler performance and carcass quality,” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 17 (2008): 202-210; Griggs and Jacob, supra note 39.

42 E. Mallinson, “Litter surface airflow: Untapped opportunity?” Watt Poultry USA, December 2007.

43 A. Vermeulen, D. Schaap, and Th.P.M. Schetters, “Control of coccidiosis in chickens by vaccination,” Veterinary Parasitology 100(2001): 13-20. H. Peek and W. Landman, “Coccidiosis in poultry: anticoccidial products, vaccines and other prevention strategies,” Veterinary Quarterly 31(2011): 143-161. r. Williams, “Anticoccidial vaccines for broiler chickens: pathways to success,” Avian Pathology 31(2002): 317-353. H. Chapman et al., “Sustainable coccidiosis control in poultry production: the role of live vaccines,” International Journal for Parasitology 32(2002): 617-629. McDonald and M. Shirley, “Past and future: vaccination against Eimeria,” Parasitology 136 (2009): 1477-1489.

44 F. Dorea et al., “Effect of salmonella vaccination of breeder chickens on contamination of broiler chicken carcasses in integrated poultry operations,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 76(2010): 7820-7825.

45 Susan Lamont, “Impact of genetics on disease resistance,” Poultry Science 77 (1998): 1111-1118. M. Kaiser, T. Wing, and S. Lamont, “Effects of genetics, vaccine dosage, and postvaccination sampling interval on early antibody response to Salmonella enteritidis vaccine in

broiler breeder chicks,” Poultry Science 2 (1998): 271-275. L. Janss and N. bolder, “Heritabilities of and genetic relationships between salmonella resistance traits in broilers,” Journal of Animal Science 78 (2000): 2287-2291. D. Flock, K. Laughlin, and J. bentley, “Minimizing losses in poultry breeding and production: How breeding companies contribute to poultry welfare,” World’s Poultry Science Journal 61 (2005): 227-237.

46 Velmurugu ravindran et al., “Performance and welfare of broilers as affected by stocking density and zinc bacitracin supplementation,” Animal Science Journal 77 (2006): 110-116. I. Dafwang, M. Cook, and M. Sunde, “Interaction of dietary antibiotic supplementation and stocking density on broiler chick performance and immune response,” British Poultry Science 28 (1987): 47-55.

47 National Chicken Council, “Animal Welfare for broiler Chickens,” www.nationalchickencouncil.org/industry-issues/animal-welfare-for-broiler-chickens/ (accessed November 1, 2013).

48 The National Organic Program recommends a density of at least 1.5 square feet per bird, and the Global Animal Partnership mandates a density of at least 0.83 square feet per bird. See, e.g., I. Estevez, “Density allowances for broilers: Where to set the limits?” Poultry Science 86 (2007): 1265-1272; A. Fanatico, C. Owens, and J. Emmert, “Organic poultry production in the United States: broilers,” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 18 (2008): 355-366. Global Animal Partnership, “Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step Animal Welfare rating Standards for Chickens raised for Meat,” www.globalanimalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/GAP-5-Step-Animal-Welfare-Standards-for-Chickens-raised-for-Meat-v2.0.pdf (accessed November 1, 2013).

49 The ArMS broiler survey from 2007 sampled roughly 1,500 broiler growers in the 17 largest broiler-producing states.

50 MacDonald, supra note 4; MacDonald and Wang, supra note 8.

51 H. Chapman and Z. Johnson, “Use of antibiotics and roxarsone in broiler chickens in the USA: Analysis for the years 1995 to 2000,” Poultry Science 81 (2002): 356-364.

52 Consumers Union, supra note 38.

53 The Pew Charitable Trusts, “More options for consumers who want meat raised without antibiotics,” http://www.pewhealth.org/uploadedFiles/PHG/Content_Level_Pages/Other_resource/HIFF_PrivateSectorAbX-Factsheet_012114.pdf(accessed February 25, 2014).

54 T. Mann and A. Paulsen, “Economic impact of restricting feed additives in livestock and poultry production,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 58 (1976): 47-53.

55 National research Council, supra note 8. Average CPI in 1999 was 166.6, CPI in Sept. of 2013 was 233.546; See U.S. Department of Labor, bureau of Labor Statistics, supra note 3.

56 J. Graham, J. boland, and E. Silbergeld, “Growth promoting antibiot-ics in food animal production: An economic analysis,” Public Health Reports 122 (2007): 79-87. H. Engster, D. Marvil, and b. Stewart-brown, “The effect of withdrawing growth promoting antibiotics from broiler chickens: A long-term commercial industry study,” Journal of Applied Poultry Research 11 (2002): 431-436.

57 MacDonald and Wang, supra note 8. Note that because the integrator pays for feed, other inputs, and veterinary care, the grower fees are a proxy for but are not the full costs of production.

58 Note that these cost estimates are of the marginal cost of reducing or eliminating some non-therapeutic uses, and that there are no existing estimates in the literature that look at the fixed costs of transition to systems that reduce or eliminate non-therapeutic uses. These fixed costs are likely to include, among others, costs associated with modifying poultry houses, improving ventilation systems, and the fixed cost of adopting more advanced vaccination technologies.

59 This includes the use of antimicrobials considered to be critically or highly important to human medicine by the WHO, which excludes ionophores and other antibiotics. See Table 1.

PaGe 13 | Pharming Chickens: It’s Time For The U.S. Poultry Industry to Demonstrate Antibiotic Stewardship

60 Food and Drug Administration, Guidance for Industry No. 213, New Animal Drugs and New Animal Drug Combination Products Administered in or on Medicated Feed or Drinking Water of Food-Producing Animals: Recommendations for Drug Sponsors for Voluntarily Aligning Product Use Conditions with GFI #209 (December 2013), http://www.fda.gov/downloads/animalveterinary/guidancecomplianceenforcement/guidanceforindustry/ucm299624.pdf.

61 The USDA Organic standard for broilers requires that birds be raised without antibiotics from the 2nd day of life. U.S. National Archives and records Administration. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 7, sec. 205. 236, National Organic Program: Origin of Livestock, 2000.

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